Unique accommodations for wonderful winter getaways

January is a great month to take stock of your life and make plans. Travel plans are the very best kind of plans to make and fantasize about. One recent study by booking.com showed that twice as many people would rather travel than lose weight this year! They’d also rather drink less than have more sex and are more keen to improve their mental health than their physical health. Go figure.

How happy does travel make you?

Back to travel, research shows that travellers are happier people – not because they’re so blissed out after spending a week in the sun. Unfortunately, that quickly wears off after your return. No, travellers are happier because they have something exciting to look forward to. But what if you have no clue where to go or what’s available to you?

A fun way to pick a new travel destination

One cool thing I recently stumbled upon is this Resolution Translator. This fun tool offers travel inspiration based on your New Year’s resolutions. First you enter your resolution, then it serves up a unique translated resolution that combines bettering one’s self with travel. I put in that in 2016 I would “focus” and was recommended a vacation in Salzburg, Austria. I immediately felt intrigued. Why would it suggest that? What’s in Salzburg? I had a happy few minutes researching and getting excited about a vacation possibility I’d never dreamt of. And because I know you’re probably wondering, if you want more sex, you should head to Lyon, but maybe that’s just me?

The point is, it’s free and fun to dream. Just give the globe a spin and take your pick. One travel trend I’m loving is how tourists are no longer limiting themselves to hotel stays. Booking.com is the site I’ve used most regularly in recent months and over 70% of accommodations available on this site falls outside the traditional hotel category. You can stay on a boat (super popular to do in Sweden), in a treehouse, on a farm stay, or even in an igloo. They’ve got like 30 different categories for accommodation. Here’s a look at some of the more unique options I came across.

This grand looking building is actually the HI- Ottawa Jail Hostel, a former jail, where you can spend the night behind bars. (If that isn’t a worthy Facebrag, I don’t know what is…)

Fancy bedding down in the cockpit? One way to join the mile high club is with a stay at STF Jumbo Stay Stockholm and “sleeping” inside a retrofit Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. Thankfully the bathrooms have been expanded.

In Norway you can sleep in an igloo, complete with hot tubs and a sauna to warm up. It’s BYOT (thermals) though….

Or how about resting your head inside a cave? At Italy’s Sextant Le Grotte Della Civita, guest  rooms are set in large caves. It’s set right on the edge of a national park and breakfast is served in a former 13th century church. Swoon!

Have I sparked some wanderlust? If you could go anywhere in 2016, where would it be?